


Where are they now? Harry pt. 1 (The Job Hunt)

by iStiz



Series: Hogwarts: Where are they now? [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Auror Ron Weasley, Auror Training, Gen, HP: EWE, Headcanon, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Professors, Ollivanders Wand Shop, Professor Draco Malfoy, Professor Harry Potter, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-20
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-16 03:46:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8085805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iStiz/pseuds/iStiz
Summary: This is my own imagining of what happened with Harry's Job after the war.





	1. Auror Training

**Author's Note:**

> I mean no disrespect to JK Rowling and I promise to treat her characters kindly (they belong to her, after all).

Harry recalls a recent conversation he had with McGonagall about his future.

_“Personally I believe that you were made to do more than kill Voldemort. Do you still want to become an Auror?”_

_“Ron does, and I do want to continue being helpful. I think being an Auror will let me do that.”_

_“I think you are quite right, Mr. Potter, though there are other options that will allow you to maintain your helpfulness.”_

Having never felt comfortable leading Dumbledore’s Army, even during the better times, Harry declines McGonagall’s offer to have him teach at Hogwarts. The DA was once thing, but being the Defense professor raises more complications. He thinks it would be too weird teaching people who are only a year younger than him. Ginny is one of those people, and she isn’t exactly seeing eye-to-eye with Harry at the moment. Luna and Hermione are also returning to school in September, and really it is only the first and second year students that Harry doesn’t know. He just can’t do it. He stands by his decision to go into Auror training with Ron as soon as they are done rebuilding Hogwarts.

“POTTER! GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ARSE AND FOLLOW YOUR TEAM!”

Harry focuses back on the tactical training scenario that his team is participating in. It is three months into Auror training, and Harry is not the star pupil that the Head Auror believed he would be. Harry spots Ron’s bright red hair hiding behind a large boulder and he ducks in next to him. “Blimey, Harry! I thought we lost you!” Harry rolls his eyes. Ron has the tendency to forget that none of this is real. It’s all glamours and charms and some muggle technology called ‘special effects’.

Harry is about to remind Ron of this when simulated curses come flying towards them. Harry and Ron nod to each other before jumping to action. “Protego!” Harry throws up a large shield charm as Ron rolls across the ground, popping up on the other side of a fake tree and shooting back a curse of his own. It’s not that Harry isn’t good at this; he’s been doing this in one way or another since he was thirteen years old. Harry is just sick and tired of it. He pretends to like training. When they go to the Burrow for supper and Molly asks them how their day was, Harry pretends that it was exhilarating. When Hermione meets them at Grimmauld Place for take-away, he pretends that this is what he wants to spend his life doing. But deep down, Harry wishes he never had to fire another curse or jinx ever again. He thought this part of his life was over. He wants to be useful; helping people. But Harry is more convinced each day that this will not be the way he does it.

He doesn’t realize that he’s dropped his shield until he hears Ron’s voice slicing through his thoughts, “HARRY!” Ron is shaking him by the shoulders now. “Mate, are you with me??” This is Harry’s chance.

He answers honestly for the first time in a long time, “No. I can’t say that I am.”

Ron gives Harry a confused looked, but is pulled back in to the tactical scenario by another Auror-in-training. Harry makes for the door. He can hear the Head Auror, “WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING, POTTER?! GET BACK IN THERE!” Harry doesn’t even look back.


	2. Working for the Weasleys

The first week after quitting Aruor training is freeing for Harry. The second week is boring. He wanders around muggle London. He visits Dean and Seamus’s flat. He borrows an owl to send a letter to Hagrid. He avoids the Burrow. He eventually finds himself standing outside of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. Walking in, Harry sees the place has been returned to its former glory. George is entertaining a group of small children with something mechanical, and Percy is behind the counter helping several Hogwarts-aged teens shrink down their purchases for easier carrying. It is George who spots Harry first. “Well, if it isn’t the Savior-of-the-Wizarding-World himself! To what do we owe the pleasure?”

Harry should be embarrassed by George’s outburst, but he’s used to the twins by now. Twin, rather. Harry knows these past few months have been particularly hard on George so he’s glad to see him in such high spirits. “Oh, just checking in to see how my investment is doing.”

George winks to someone over Harry’s shoulder, “Ahh, yes. Investments. Dividends. Interest and all that. I’m afraid Percy is charge of the money now.”

“Right you are, brother.” Harry jumps as Percy’s voice comes from directly behind him. Both Percy and George have a laugh at Harry’s expense, but Harry soon shakes his head and smiles at the two. It was kind of eerie how Percy slips so easily into the role of George’s partner in crime, but Harry could not be happier for the two of them. “Are you interested in accounting, Harry? I could teach you all about the shop’s finances.”

Harry, having nothing better to do, lets Percy teach him everything. Harry comes back every day for the rest of the week. Percy gives a new lesson each day, and Harry is enjoying himself. Harry is not surprised when Percy asks him to come to the shop early on Monday morning to help them open. He is surprised to find that while George greets him at the shop door, Percy is nowhere to be found. George is equally surprised, but says that if Harry is willing to work then he is more than willing to have Harry fill in for Percy.

This goes on every day for a few weeks, until one morning when Harry overhears the George yelling from the back room. “I thought you wanted to work with me, Perce! I thought we were doing well! We were being brothers again, _real_ brothers! You were smiling and chatting with customers. I was inventing and creating. We make a great team! And it’s not that I don’t like Harry. He’s doing a fine job. But don’t think I don’t know what’s going on here. You trained him up all good on the _“shop finances”_ so you could bugger off and leave me! I can’t take another brother leaving me! Charlie slipped out in the middle of the night, with only mum passing on a farewell from him. Bill’s moved into his own home now and Ron is busy with Auror training. I just can’t stand to lose you too, Percy! You may be a prat at times but you’re MY prat!”

“I…Georgey…Kingsley offered me a job at the Ministry. I love working here with you, but this has always been what I’ve wanted. I got my second chance to be your brother, now this is my second chance to work in the Ministry.”

It’s quiet for long enough that Harry is about to knock on the door and announce his presence, but George begins talking again. “I get it, Perce. I really do. And I’m willing to let you go on one condition. You and me move out of the Burrow and find a place together. Something nice, maybe halfway between Diagon Alley and the Ministry. What do you say?”

“It’s a deal, Georgey. And don’t you worry about Harry. I’ve taught him everything he needs to know! He’ll help you out for sure.”

“I trust you. I am curious, though…shouldn’t he be at Auror training with Ron?”

“Oh, you didn’t hear? Mum said Harry just up and walked out one day! I figure it wasn’t much after that he showed up here. Ron has been worried sick about him, but I told him we’ve got an eye on Harry here at the shop. It’s bad enough he and Ginny are fighting all the time, and now this? I hope working here makes him at least a little happy.”

“How can someone be unhappy here, Percy??”

“Right you are, George.”

Harry quickly backs away from the door and apparates to the Burrow. He wants to catch Ron before he leaves for training. As luck would have it, Ron is still at the kitchen table shoveling eggs into his mouth. “HAHWY!” Chunks of egg fly from Ron’s mouth (Harry can hear Hermione’s voice in his head, _“Honestly, Ronald…”_ ) as he calls his name and jumps up. “I was worried sick about you, mate! When the training was done I went looking for you, but no one knew where you’d gone. I came here, I checked at Grimmauld Place, I stopped by the Leaky, and I even went to Hogwarts! Then, Percy tells me you’ve been working at the joke shop but that I should give you some space. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. I just can’t be an Auror, Ron. I can’t do it anymore. I want to help people and be useful but there are other ways. Percy taught me how to do his job at the shop, and for now I’m happy working with George. I’m sorry for leaving you.”

“Don’t be sorry, Harry. Just tell me next time you’re having an existential crisis. I don’t know if I’ll be able to help you through it, but I will always be there for you.”

“Thanks, Ron. Existential crisis…Where did you even hear that from?”

“Hermione. Where else? She gave me loads of books to read about it when I went to Hogwarts looking for you. She’s the one taking classes yet somehow _I’m_ the one with homework!”


	3. Time for a Change (or Two)

Three months into working with George, and Harry knows this isn’t what he wants to do for the rest of his life. He enjoys the shop but it’s not his passion. He helps George hire some new workers, but then starts making plans to find other work. It’s on a walk through Diagon Alley one afternoon that work finds him.

Garrick Ollivander is closing the door to his shop when he spots Harry. He invites Harry to lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. He asks Harry about his life, and Harry asks Mr. Ollivander about the wand business. Ollivander admits that the process is becoming difficult as his age progresses. He’s thinking about hiring on an apprentice. Harry feels bad, knowing that it was Voldemort’s torture that has sped up his need for help. Before Ollivander can even ask, Harry offers to take on the apprenticeship. Harry admits that he knows nothing of wand lore, but he is willing to learn.

Ollivander gladly accepts Harry’s offer, and sends him home with book upon book about wand making. When Hermione visits on her Easter holiday break she sets Harry up with a color-coded studying system. Ollivander teaches Harry about wood choices and wand cores, and how to blend muggle wood-working with magical principles. Harry does more upkeep around the shop then actual wand making, but that’s probably for the best. Ollivander tells Harry that the busy season is always right before September 1st, but they get a few 11-year-olds throughout the year as well.

Harry’s first attempt at making a wand is poor to say the least. The thing explodes, and suddenly Harry has a whole new appreciation for Seamus Finnigan. Harry expects Ollivander to be upset for wasting supplies, but he chuckles and tells Harry about his own failed experiences. Harry knows this isn’t the career path for him, but he enjoys the work. He’s definitely being useful, and he’s directly helping someone who was wronged by Voldemort. That’s why he’s shocked when he comes into work one day in June and finds a man standing behind the counter with Mr. Ollivander.

“Oh, Harry!” Mr. Ollivander turns to Harry when he walks in. “This is my son. He’s coming to live with me.”

Harry is happy for Mr. Ollivander. Family is important. But he has to wonder, “Does this mean I’m out of a job?”

“If you want to stay on, my boy, then you are always welcome here. You may not be a wand maker, but you are a hard worker. My son can help me with the actual wand making.”

Harry looks from father to son and can’t help but feel he’s intruding. “No, that’s alright, Mr. Ollivander. You don’t need someone who can’t pull their own weight. I have enjoyed my time working here and you’ve taught me so much. I’m still sorry for what happened to you during the war, and if you need anything don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll always help in whatever ways I can.”

“You don’t have to apologize for that man. He was a monster. You have been a joy to work with and I wish you well. Do stop in from time to time and tell me about your adventures.”

“I will, Mr. Ollivander. Thank you, again.” He exits the shop and heads home, having no idea what he’s going to do now.

Harry wakes up to a very persistent, stern-looking owl tapping on his window. He takes the parchment it is holding but the owl makes no move to leave. It is waiting for a reply. “Must be important,” Harry thinks out loud as he unrolls the letter and begins reading. McGonagall is asking him to teach at Hogwarts. No. She is _begging_ him to teach. Harry hesitates, but not for long. His life is not the same as it was a year ago. He writes a simple note of confirmation and hands it out to the owl saying, “You better take this to her quickly. If you’re back too late I have no doubt that she’ll show up on my doorstep and drag me there herself.” The owl does not see the humor in Harry’s words and pecks his hand as if it knows he’s being cheeky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last paragraph is also in Chapter 4 of Minverva McGonagall's story.


	4. Going Home

“Thank you for agreeing to see me, Harry. I’m happy to see that you’ve accepted my offer this time around. But I must ask, why the change of heart?”

“Well, Professor…”

“Minerva.”

“What?”

“If you’re going to teach on my staff then you will have to get used to calling me Minerva. I daresay Neville still has problems with it, though. You’d think killing a murderous snake would give him the courage to take on the world, but he still sees himself as that scared little boy who can’t seem to find his toad.” McGonagall smiles, lost in her memories, but just as quickly guides the conversation back towards Harry. “But, as you were saying?”

“Erm, yes, Proffes- I mean, Minerva, that is, I made it through three months of Auror training before your words prompted me to leave. In the middle of a tactical exercise, at that. Just up and walked out. Scared Ron with that one. But then I went to Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes and worked for George. It was Percy who actually taught me what to do. I worked with the money. You know Percy’s not such a bad guy? But he went to work for the ministry so I took over at the shop. It was fun, but it wasn’t where I was meant to be. Then, Mr. Ollivander needed help so took on an apprenticeship in wand making. I’m terrible at it, but it was interesting. I learned a lot. Hermione was happy about that bit. But when Mr. Ollivander’s son came to live with him, I knew it was time to go. Just so happened that I got your letter that very night. Hogwarts has always been home, and I feel like it’s time I stop running away from it. From you. This…this may be new to me but it feels right, being back.” Harry is out of breath by the end of his speech.

“You’ve had quite the year, Harry. I’m sorry to say you may find it boring here compared to everything you’ve done.”

“I hardly think of teaching as a boring experience. I’m nervous just thinking about it!”

“You’ll do just fine. I suggest voicing your concerns to Neville. He had quite a time getting used to being Hufflepuff Head of House.”

“Head of Hufflepuff? I really do need to meet with Neville! Seems that I’ve missed a lot while I’ve been avoiding this place.”

She smiles knowingly at him before pulling out a piece of parchment. “I believe you know your way around, but here is a map of the changes to the castle. There has been some minor shifting during the year. Since summer holidays just began, you have several months to move into your new quarters. Take your time. I know this will be a big change for you but I think you’re making the right choice. I’m proud of you.”

Before Harry can second guess himself, the school year is starting. And before he can catch his breath, the school year is over and his first year of teaching Defense is done. All professors have a meeting with the Headmistress to discuss how the year went and to decide on any necessary changes for the next year. One meeting and he is free to enjoy his summer holiday.

“What was the highlight of your year, Harry?”

“In the classroom, it was when all of my fifth years finally cast a corporal Patronus for their final practical exam. Personally, it was seeing Neville coach Quidditch.”

McGonagall laughs at the latter. “Yes, we are truly thankful for your offer to coach the Badgers next year. Neville has many talents, but riding a broom has never been one of them.” She then becomes serious. “As for your students’ success, that is one of the greatest moments in a teacher’s life. I am so glad you were able to have that. Any changes you need made to your classroom?”

“Some extra storage, perhaps. I had to haul that Boggart in and out of the classroom several times this year. It would be nice to have a dedicated location to store it off of the main classroom.”

“Consider it done.”

A knock at the door ends officially ends their meeting. “Ah, that would be our new Potions professor! I hope Horace gets to enjoy his retirement this time around.” McGonagall stands, and Harry makes his way to the door.

“Thank you again, Minerva, for the second chance at this job; for a second chance to come home.”

“I believe we all deserve second chances, Harry.”

He nods a final time and opens the door. Draco Malfoy is standing on the other side. Harry looks from Malfoy to McGonagall and back again. “Harry, would you please let Draco into my office? I think he’d like to get down to the Potions classroom, but he can’t do that until he meets with me.”

“Oh! Right! Right. Sorry. I’ll just. Erm.” Harry stammers and blushes, moving to the side to let Draco in. “Yeah. I’ll just. Yeah. Sorry.” He leaves McGonagall’s office and shuts the door behind him. First, Ron is going to Malfoy for help with an Auror investigation. Then, Ron starts playing weekly chess games with him. Now, Malfoy’s going to be working at Hogwarts. Harry doesn’t know which is worse: that his peaceful life is slowly being infiltrated by Malfoy, or that he doesn’t seem to mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could have written a whole chapter on Harry's first year, but I skipped over it to move the story along.


End file.
